FAQs

This page lists a selection of frequently asked questions & answers that should help you in your search.

Who is Unilever?

Unilever is one of the world’s leading suppliers of fast moving consumer goods with strong operations in more than 100 countries and sales in 180. With products that are used over two billion times a day around the world, we work to create a better future every day and help people feel good, look good and get more out of life with brands and services that are good for them and good for others. In the United States the portfolio includes brand icons such as: Axe, Ben & Jerry’s, Bertolli, Breyers, Caress, Country Crock, Degree, Dove personal care products, Good Humor, Hellmann’s, I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter!, Klondike, Knorr, Lever 2000, Lipton, Pond’s, Popsicle, Promise, Q-Tips, Ragu, Skippy, Slim-Fast, Suave, TIGI, Vaseline, and Wish-Bone. All of the preceding brand names are registered trademarks of the Unilever Group of Companies. Dedicated to serving consumers and the communities where we live, work and play, Unilever employs more than 10,000 people in the United States – generating over $8 billion in sales in 2010.

How can I obtain information about Unilever stock?

Unilever is traded on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) under the symbols UN (Unilever N.V.-Netherlands) and UL (Unilever PLC-London). To purchase stock, please visit www.ADR.com(Link opens in a new window).

How can I apply for a job at Unilever?

For information on employment opportunities, please go to Our Company -> Careers

If you have a condition that hinders your ability to apply online or have questions regarding the application process, please choose one of the alternate options:

Can you give me Unilever’s corporate address?

Unilever

800 Sylvan Avenue

Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey 07632

I am a member of the media & would like contact information.

If you are a member of the media wishing to conduct media interviews related to our brands or marketing strategies, you can email us at MediaRelations.USA@unilever.com or call Unilever US Media Relations at 201-894-7760.

What are your political activities and trade-association memberships in the U.S.?

Unilever public affairs activities are governed by our global Code of Business Principles(Link opens in a new window), which establishes that Unilever neither supports political parties nor contributes to the funds of groups whose activities are calculated to promote party interests. As such, Unilever does not have a political action committee (PAC) and does not make contributions directly or indirectly to political party organizations, political candidates, or Super PACs.

Unilever companies, including our U.S. business, are encouraged to promote and defend their legitimate business interests. Unilever cooperates with governments and other organizations, both directly and through bodies such as trade associations, in the development of proposed legislation and other regulations which may affect legitimate business interests. We comply with lobbying disclosure requirements, including the U.S. Lobbying Disclosure Act (LDA). The LDA website(Link opens in a new window) provides a searchable database of lobbying disclosure filings.

Unilever is a member of several U.S. trade associations that engage in lobbying activities on behalf of our industries. The following list identifies our major U.S. industry trade associations (membership dues of $15,000 or more) that declare lobbying expenses:

American Cleaning Institute

American Logistics Association

Association of National Advertisers

Consumer Specialty Products Association

Grocery Manufacturers Association

International Dairy Foods Associations

National Association of Manufacturers

Organization for International Investment

Personal Care Product Council

Sweetener Users Association

Tea Association of the USA

Can you give me the history of Unilever?

Can you send me some coupons for your products?

We appreciate your interest in our many fine products; however, we do not have a promotional program where we distribute free coupons or coupon booklets for our well-established products. We suggest that you check your local newspapers and magazines as we frequently issue coupons for many of our products.

I understand that you recently discontinued manufacturing a product I’ve enjoyed using. Can you give me any further information about this?

Unilever’s goal is to provide our consumers with variety of products to meet their needs and preferences. As you know marketing is a complex function, and many business factors are taken into consideration before discontinuing a product. Consumer demand is a major factor. When the level of demand is insufficient to ensure that consumers receive a high quality product at an affordable price, a product may be discontinued. We regret any inconvenience this may have caused and suggest that you visit the Brand’s web site where you’ll find many similar products that you may find equally enjoyable.

What is Unilever’s policy on recycling?

Because we recognize the importance of preserving natural resources, we are engaged in a series of programs designed to address a number of issues concerning the environment. These issues range from biodegradability to recycling. Our company actively participates in industry-wide coalitions and trade associations which are working toward solutions to solid waste problems. We have established a center devoted entirely to the development and testing of new packaging materials and concepts. Company efforts to reduce solid waste include recycling projects, packages which can be recycled and use of recycled materials. Our scientists are also conducting studies on a broad range of product formulas and ingredients to ensure their environmental compatibility.

Do you use GMOs?

We recognize that some consumers have questions about food ingredients produced from genetically modified (GM) agricultural crops.

Here in the US, we rely on American farmers to produce most of the agricultural raw materials used to make our products. US farmers widely use GM seeds to produce five major agricultural crops that are commonly used for food ingredients: corn, soy, canola, cottonseed and sugar beet. Therefore if a US food product is not labeled organic or labeled with information on non-GM sourcing -- and contains those five agricultural ingredients -- it is likely to have ingredients made from GM crops. It is estimated that 70-80% of foods in the US have ingredients produced from GM crops.

All of our ingredients meet regulatory requirements and fulfill our own high standards for quality. GM crops and food ingredients produced from these crops have been safely used for the past 20 years and could play an important role in helping meet the long-term food needs of the world in a more sustainable way. The regulatory agencies and leading scientific bodies that study the safety of our food supply have found that these GM crops and food ingredients made from these crops are as safe as their conventional counterparts.

We recognize some consumers have a preference for foods made through specific production standards, such as foods that do not use ingredients produced from GM crops. We offer non-GM sourcing alternatives in some of our categories to meet these preferences.

What is Unilever’s policy on animal testing?

Animal testing is a contentious issue, and there are strong and diverse opinions on the need for animal testing to underpin the development of new consumer products, particularly cosmetics. Unilever is required to provide animal data to comply with the safety regulations in place in different countries across the world. Where we are legally obliged to commission animal studies, we ensure that the minimum numbers of animals are used.

Unilever is committed to the elimination of animal testing for its business, and is at the forefront of research into non-animal approaches for assessing consumer safety. Currently, a very small amount of animal testing is still necessary to deliver innovative products that provide consumer benefits and are market competitive.

At Unilever, using non-animal approaches is the norm. Most of our products reach consumers without testing any of their ingredients on animals. We do not test our actual products on animals (any testing is undertaken on individual ingredients), and we do not undertake animal testing in our own laboratories (any studies are conducted by third party laboratories). A few countries still undertake product testing in their government laboratories. We are working with the local authorities to ensure the implementation of non-animal methods.

What is your animal-welfare policy for egg products?

Eggs are an ingredient used in many of our best-known food products, ranging from mayonnaises to dressings, sauces and ice cream. We take animal welfare seriously as a social and ethical concern and part of our commitment to sustainable agriculture, and we have a longstanding position on Farm Animal Welfare(Link opens in a new window).

We are also working toward improvements in the current standard practices of poultry breeding companies that supply egg-laying hens to the egg farming industry. We are aware of the concerns raised about the global egg-industry standards by which breeders of egg-laying hens eliminate male chicks, following methods that are included in American Veterinary Medical Association guidelines and European Union directives. While these are standard practices of suppliers to the broad egg-farming industry and all types of egg products, and although Unilever uses only a relatively small percentage of eggs produced in the market, we take these concerns seriously. In our corporate position statement on Farm Animal Welfare(Link opens in a new window) we have included our commitment to engage with the egg production industry, the animal welfare community and R&D companies to develop alternative options for the current practices.

We are committed to providing financial support to research and market introduction of in-ovo gender identification (sexing) of eggs, a new technology that has the potential to eliminate the hatching and culling of male chicks in the poultry-breeding industry. We are arranging meetings with animal-welfare experts, egg industry organizations, suppliers, and other stakeholders to develop a multi-stakeholder dialogue and tangible steps to address this important issue and explore alternative options. While our approach is to work in support of technologies that would eliminate the culling of male chicks in the industry, we are also exploring ways to further meet consumer needs for products with different nutrition profiles and preferences for plant-based protein sources through the use of egg-replacement ingredients in some product categories.

I have a great idea that I would like to share with your company. How do I go about doing this?

Go to www.unilever.com(Link opens in a new window) In the search area in the upper right hand corner, type in the words, “submit an idea”. Click on the link under the heading “Working with Us/Unilever Global Follow the steps listed under “Start Collaborating”.